Sustainability Made Simple With Tech

Sustainability is a simple concept: manage the world’s resources better. With the latest wireless devices in hand, that concept can easily be integrated into daily practice. And today’s smartphones and tablets can help make it easier.

From the grocery store to the dining table, there are many mobile apps available to help you mindfully source your food:

Eat the freshest foods with What’s Fresh, which highlights fruits and vegetables currently in season in your region.

If you like to eat foods that are locally produced, then the Locavore app is for you – it provides info on the farms and farmers markets in your neighborhood.

The GoodGuide app scans a product’s bar code and displays a report on the item’s environmental and social impact.

You can identify environmental and sustainable businesses with the inBloom app, and when you’re heading to them, be sure to use GasHog or FuelLog to track the fuel economy of your vehicle and for tips on ways to drive cleaner and greener.

To power the mobile phones that access these apps, you can be energy-conscious through the Panasonic Solar Charger, an earth-friendly and convenient solar charger that eliminates the need to plug into an electrical outlet. And if you’re near Boston, check out the new Soofa benches. Developed by MIT Media Lab in partnership with the Verizon Innovation Program, they were recently featured at the White House. These solar-powered benches provide city dwellers with a source of renewable energy to charge their mobile devices.

When you are ready to buy a new smartphone or tablet, don’t throw it away. Consider donating it to HopeLine from Verizon instead. HopeLine connects survivors of domestic violence to vital resources, funds organizations nationwide and recycles unusable phones to help protect the environment. Since 2001, the HopeLine program has collected more than 10.8 million phones and provided more than $21.4 million in cash grants to domestic violence organizations nationwide.